50,000 failed asylum seekers missing, the return of The Whig party and Strawberries at Christmas

29th October 2014

MP’s report: 50,000 rejected asylum seekers missing since 2012

The Commons public accounts committee (PAC) reveals Britain’s immigration system is in chaos.

Two failed IT projects, the Immigration Case Work programme and the e-Borders IT programme, have hindered the Home Office’s attempts to track people through the immigration process. PAC warn the cost of these failures could rise to £1bn.

Officials are also unable to locate 50,000 rejected asylum seekers who have gone missing since 2012.

A further 11,000 asylum seekers are waiting to hear from the government whether they can stay in the UK or not. The report says 29,000 asylum applications dating back to 2007 have not been resolved.

The damning report reveals poor management and waste within the immigration system.

Where there’s a Whig, there’s a way

South Londonder Waleed Ghani started with a Facebook page - and now wants to change the face of politics.

Ghani, a former army intelligence officer, has revived the Whig Party, registered it with the electoral commission and announced his intention to run for election.

The Whig party was originally founded in 1678 and was originally dissolved in 1868, before Ghani revived them to contest the 2015 general election.

The Whigs were at the forefront of British politics and dominated with the Tories for almost two centuries before the emergence of the Liberal Party in the 1850s. Robert Walpole, considered the first British Prime Minister, was a Whig.

Ghani will be standing as a Whig in Labour stronghold Vauxhall and accepts he is unlikely to be victorious. However, Ghani is hoping that people will think about what their political beliefs mean and what they stand for.

Berry Christmas, everybody

British strawberries will be available in December for the first time after the long summer and a mild autumn produced a record crop. More than 150 millions punnets have been picked this year already. There is a month of picking time left.

But can anyone trust a December strawberry? It just doesn’t seem right.

Bad news: everyday sexism alive and well

In today’s viral video, we see that everyday sexism is still unfortunately commonplace. The video presents an unnerving insight into the constant comments many women are subjected to throughout the day.